Gaining a heart of wisdom
As one who lives by a list, I have come to appreciate the satisfaction of a neat column of check marks at the end of a day, the faithful reminder to pray or to do or to go, and the convenience of a resource close at hand: "Didn't we buy slippers for her last Christmas?"… Continue reading Your New Life Beyond the To-Do List
Last summer, sitting on a rocky beach with family all around, I noticed a small white shell among the scramble of stones and shards of driftwood. Soon I had collected a handful, all pure white and perfectly whorled, the former dwelling place for some diminutive, absentee mollusk. For a few days, I carried them around… Continue reading The Ancient Way of Praying Made New
Encased in a body that you recognize in the mirror, your soul is the "you" that's always been there peering back from your reflection. It's the part of you that infuses all the roles you play (parent, spouse, friend, leader, employee), and it's what makes those roles uniquely yours. Your soul is the place where… Continue reading Leadership Lessons from the Soul of Moses
I did not set out to live at the same address for 25 years, and, technically, I suppose my deep roots in this country hill may disqualify me from reviewing a book entitled Born to Wander: Recovering the Value of Our Pilgrim Identity. At the outset, I actually thought I had been born to wander,… Continue reading Reclaiming Our Pilgrim Identity
When Ginger Harrington and her family moved from North Carolina to California, she wasn't worried about packing or adjusting to a new home base. Rather, she was worried about surviving! Medical testing had revealed that she had Graves' disease, a hyperthyroid autoimmune disease and suddenly, all the roller coaster symptoms of anxiety and a body… Continue reading Love God. Embrace Truth. Enjoy Life.
After graduating from college, I moved to the biggest city in Maine for my first "real job," bringing with me a wardrobe fashioned around college life south of the Mason-Dixon. Clearly, my flimsy sandals would not fit my new life as a ministry professional. However, it soon became apparent that my feet were not going… Continue reading Correcting the Soundtrack in Your Head
Wendell Berry poured this wisdom into the mouth of one of his fictional characters: “Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told.” (Jayber Crow) This is always the nature of story, and in Wounds Are Where… Continue reading Drawing Out a Handful of Light
If it is true that, as we age, we become even more of whatever we have been all our lives, then Luci Shaw is becoming more and more difficult to “shelve.” A poet and essayist well into her eighties, she continues to tackle topics ranging from quantum mechanics and the incarnation to the haecceity** of… Continue reading Decoding the Beauty in the Universe
Imagine the shrill ring of the phone and the jolt into wakefulness. The voice in your ear carries unthinkable news. Is it possible that you are still dreaming? "Your son has been been arrested." "The charge is murder. The victim: his wife's ex-husband." As daylight comes, you learn more. Your son was desperate to protect… Continue reading Desperate to Hear God’s Voice
Little Rock, Arkansas was the Sunday stop on the last leg of our cross-country trip. I don't recall the denomination of the church we visited, but I sure remember its personality: the two-handed handshakes, the over-the-top meet-n-greet . . . and the dear woman who sat next to me and kept touching my arm whenever… Continue reading A Guide for Living Well as an Introvert of Faith
